A Space Oddity
A Space Oddity is the twentieth episode in season nine of . Synopsis CSIs are called to investigate a murder at an Astro Quest convention. The victim is responsible for Astro Quest Redux, a "re-imagining" of the classic 1960s show that faces opposition from die-hard fans. During the investigation, Astro Quest fans David Hodges and Wendy Simms have dream sequences based on their previously unexpressed mutual attraction and their memories of the original series. Plot David Hodges is shocked to run into Wendy Simms at a Whatifit convention dedicated to the sixties television show Astro Quest. Before the two can delve too deeply into their shared love for the show, there's a commotion on the convention floor: a man has been found dead on the mock up bridge of the starship from the show. Hodges confirms he's dead and calls Brass, gravely stating, "He's dead, Jim." When the CSI team arrives, Nick learns the dead man is thirty-six-year old California resident Jonathan Danson. David Phillips determines that the man died between midnight and 3 am. Jonathan's producing partner, Melinda Carver, tells Brass that he spent the last five years working on a pilot for a new Astro Quest, which had just been picked up. Melinda financed it--and retains the rights now that Jonathan is dead. Langston observes that the broken skin on Jonathan's face is split rather than cut, suggesting a sharp impact. At the lab, Archie plays video footage of Danson debuting his new show, Astro Quest Redux and witnesses the crowd react angrily to it, displeased by his darker, edgier version of their beloved show. Back at the scene, Nick and Riley examine the bridge and find semen stains on the command chair. Riley discovers Danson's laptop as well as a DVD player with a DVD in it made by outraged fans who find Danson "guilty of high treason" and execute him in video effigy. Hodges broaches the subject of what would happen to two lab workers in a romantic relationship with Catherine and she tells him that one would have to switch shifts. Greg speaks with Penelope Russell, a media professor who was studying Danson's relaunch of the classic series. Russell tells Greg that Danson was a provocateur, the science fiction equivalent of Martin Luther. In the morgue, Dr. Robbins confirms that a blow to the head did Danson in, while Langston theorizes that the murder weapon was likely angular. Robbins shows Langston the odd substances he found in Danson's stomach: a mixture of worms and alcohol. Nick speaks with the bartender from the convention bar who served Danson the bizarre space age drink. He tells Nick that Danson hit on an Astro girl and got attacked by her two friends, whom the bartender identifies as two angry fans from the video of the Astro Quest Redux unveiling. While Hodges examines a metal collar found at the scene, Mandy recovers prints from the DVD that match Steuben Lorenz and Lionel Rose. Brass goes to Rose's address and the door is answered by Lionel's mother, who shows the detective to a space age room where the two super fans are roleplaying. When they're brought in for questioning, Lionel and Steuben insist the video was a joke. Neither knows where the girl, Risa Varness, they fought Jonathan over is. In the lab, Wendy matches the DNA in the chair to Danson and an unknown female. She invites Hodges over to watch several episodes of Astro Quest, throwing the smitten lab tech off. Nick tracks Risa down thinking Danson may have forced himself on her, but she tells him they had consensual sex--and that she liked his show. Riley finds photos on Danson's laptop of him hooking up with various women--including Melinda Carver. Brass questions Melinda, who doesn't seem bothered that Danson had other lovers. She tells the detective that they were in an open relationship. Suspecting Danson had installed a video camera on the bridge mock up, Riley and Langston go to look for it. They're stymied until Hodges calls with a revelation: Danson was killed by a retractable viewer, likely hidden in the helm. Sure enough, they discover it by pushing the "targeting scanner" button. Langston finds blood on it--and a bloody print. The print proves a match to Penelope Russell, the media professor. She tells Brass that Danson was in her Media Semiotics class--and that he stole her ideas for Astro Quest Redux. When she confronted him, they got into a physical fight and she threw him into the console--releasing the retractable viewer, which struck and killed him. Nick, Riley and Ray head to the break room to watch Astro Quest, but both Wendy and Hodges decline to join them, instead watching each other forlornly from their respective labs. Cast Main Cast * Laurence Fishburne as Raymond Langston * Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows * George Eads as Nick Stokes * Eric Szmanda as Greg Sanders * Robert David Hall as Dr. Al Robbins * Wallace Langham as David Hodges * Lauren Lee Smith as Riley Adams * Paul Guilfoyle as Jim Brass Guest Cast * Archie Kao as Archie Johnson * Liz Vassey as Wendy Simms * Jon Wellner as Henry Andrews * Sheeri Rappaport as Mandy Webster * Ronald D. Moore as a convention attendee * Grace Park as a convention attendee * Rekha Sharma as a convention attendee * Jaime Ray Newman as Melinda Carver * Kate Vernon as Dr. Penelope Russell Quotes :Wendy: "So if you're having some fantasies about me dressed up in a tin foil bikini dancing around in a casbah on a strange alien planet then... good." :Hodges: "Good?" :Wendy: "Yes, good. Because it means you're not as oblivious as everyone around here seems to think you are." Notes *The title may be a reference to either the science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey or David Bowie's song of the same name. Trivia * This episode spoofs Star Trek. Wallace Langham, Liz Vassey, Kate Vernon, Bradley Thompson, David Weddle, Naren Shankar and Ronald D. Moore all worked on assorted Trek spin-offs in one capacity or another. Also, many of the 'fantasy' sequences between Hodges and Simms are obvious spoofs of scenes from Star Trek. For example, the scene where Hodges and Simms are wearing "obedience collars" and Simms is running Hodges trough training exercises is clearly an homage to the episode Star Trek: The Gamesters of Triskelion, which has a scene that is nearly identical. * At the beginning of the episode Hodges and Simms meet in a Whatificon. It's a parody of the original Sci Fi con or "sci-fi conventions", dedicated exactly to the sci-fi movies and TV series like Star Trek, Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica, among others. In addition, in the Whatificon people went disguised of aliens from movies & TV series, a trademark of the real SciFi con. * The episode also references the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. The scene taking place at the Whatificon, where Danson reveals "Astro Quest Redux" is purposefully reminiscent of when Ronald D Moore (who plays the character yelling to Danson "You Suck!") revealed the new Battlestar Galactica, as its producer. * The alphabet used for the fictional Villikon language displayed on Wendy's screen at the end of the episode is the same as the Aurebesh alphabet used in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. * Director Michael Nankin has also worked on Battlestar Galactica, as have the three writers, plus actors Kate Vernon, Rekha Sharma, Ronald D. Moore and Grace Park. * The gun used in the "Astro Quest Redux" scene is a redressed FN P90 submachine gun, which was featured prominently in Stargate: Atlantis, also Jaime Ray Newman plays in this series as Lt. Laura Cadman. * Grace Park made her a special guest as the convention attendee in this episode, then she played as Kono Kalakaua in Hawaii Five-0 from 2010 to 2017. * The tv show, Astro Quest, may also be a reference to Galaxy Quest, which in turn was a parody of Star Trek. See Also Category:CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Episodes Category:CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season 9 Episodes